Nothing Left to Say
by allietheepic7
Summary: And Death walked into a bar...Sounds like a joke. It's not.
1. Prologue

**Nothing Left to Say**

**By Allietheepic7**

_**Death**_

I took a bite of my food and grimaced; and this bar had come so recommended too. Pity. All around me were human patrons drowning their sorrows in liquor, something we had in common. Of course, I'm not talking about the human part.

No, a reaper had brought me some grave news earlier today. Apparently, the demons had started plans to raise Lucifer, even though any _simpleton_ knows that the apocalypse would only happen when God was good and ready for it to happen. These plans aren't anywhere close to producing fruit yet (Lucifer's vessel is only 5, a mere _babe_), but I know that the moment Lucifer is free, he'll do all he can to bind me, and that certainly won't do. A crooning voice rang from the speakers as the bar's doors opened to let in another poor soul. I have to figure out a way to keep the balance for the time I'll be bound, perhaps even a way to fight back against Lucifer…But I certainly can't break the balance myself…

A rather depressed red head sat next to me at the bar. Tear stains were drying on her cheeks as she shifted awkwardly on her stool. "Anything good?" She croaked at me, eyeing the growing-cold meal in front of me.

"Not particularly," I sniffed. "It isn't really up to health code standards, let alone mine." The woman snorted as I pinned her with my ice-blue eyes. Her hands cradled her stomach unconsciously while she ordered her non-alcoholic drink. "You seem rather upset, if you don't mind my noticing, madam." While it was rather worthless most of the time, I often engaged in human chatter. Their various opinions of the world were amusing, especially coming from such insignificant creatures.

"It's Maddie," She murmured, eyes welling with tears. "And, it's nothing, really. It's just…my husband and I have been trying to have another child, a son, but…Jazz's birth was really complicated…and the doctors told us it might not be possible."

I gave her what I believed was a sympathetic smile as a plan emerged in my mind. I've seen everything. I watched as the Flood killed thousands. As Samson slaughtered in battle lust. As Gabriel impregnated Mary.

I placed a hand on the bare skin of her arm. "I wish you the best of luck, my dear." I said sincerely as a piece of my essence latched onto a small piece of her soul. No, dear Madeline wouldn't have any trouble conserving another child.

If the child was her husband's or not was another matter.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: A Good Day to Die**

_**Danny**_

"Danny, are you okay?" Sam asked as the trio got their food at the counter of the Nasty Burger. "You've been looking really under the weather lately."

"Yeah, man," said Tucker as they sat in a booth. "Does it have something to do with the…you-know-what?"

Danny rolled his eyes at his friend's unsubtle attempt to mention the lab accident. A few weeks ago, he had been caught in his parent's ghost portal, designed to get to the rumored Ghost Zone. The Portal had failed to open and his parents had been so depressed that Danny had tried to fix the portal himself. For his troubles, he was zapped with over 10,000 volts and the portal still didn't work. But that wasn't his worst problem.

For all purposes, Danny should be dead. Only he wasn't. In a way.

The three of them sat down in a booth and Danny stared at his burger and fries. He wasn't hungry anymore. He hadn't slept in days. And sometimes, he'd disappear from view right in front of people. "I'm fine," he lied and forced himself to take a bite of his burger. "I'm just worried about my English grade. Mr. Lancer's tough."

The other 14 year olds accepted this with minor skepticism and began discussing other things. Danny only kept half his mind on the conversation, desperately trying to keep himself visible. He hated it when he wasn't visible. No one could see or hear him and sometimes he got glimpses of weird people in suits.

Soon the three had finished their meal and were leaving. On the way out, Danny bumped an elder gentleman who had a cane. A cold shiver blew up his spine and a puff of ice cold air escaped Danny's mouth. "Sorry, sir," Danny apologized automatically.

The man eyed him, seeming amused without an expression on his face. "That's quite alright, boy," he said. "…Perhaps you can help me. This restaurant, is it any good?"

"It's the best one in town," Danny answered truthfully. The man nodded thoughtfully and entered the Nasty Burger while Danny rejoined his friends.

Tuck shuddered. "Dude, that guy is weird. Why'd you stop to talk to him?"

"Yeah, he gives me the creeps," Sam agreed.

Danny shrugged. Besides that weird cold shudder, the guy didn't seem too bad. "I was just being polite—" Coughs shook his body, making Danny double over in pain. His shoulders quaked as he tried to ride it out, but the coughs kept coming and coming until he was nearly passed out on the street. His friends caught him and shouted to get his attention when the coughing stopped. He waved them off and tried to placate their fears. "Guys, I'm fine, it's just a cough!"

"You sounded like you were dying!" Sam yelled.

"Well, I'm fine now!"

"It doesn't matter! We're taking you home!" At that, the 3 walked back to Danny's house in tense silence. Danny fumed. He was perfectly okay! Why did Sam have to make such a big deal out of it? They reached the odd-looking Fenton Works and Danny left his friends on the front steps, not even saying goodbye.

As the closed door blocked his view of Tucker and Sam, Danny began to feel bad about his behavior. He shouldn't have yelled at Sam, especially since they were worried about him. He'd call them later and say he was sorry. "Mom! Dad! I'm home—"

Oh, not again! Danny collapsed form another fit of coughs, this one more painful than the last time. He couldn't breathe as his throat ached with the force of the coughs. Something wet dripped from his mouth. Was he bleeding? Oh, God, did he rip something in his lungs!?

"Danny? Danny!" He heard Jazz yell over his own hacking. She kneeled next to him—when did he get on the floor?—and lifted up his head. He had just enough time to meet her teal eyes when Jazz dropped him and fainted next to Danny.

Finally, the coughs subsided once again. Danny called for help. "Mon! Dad! Help, please!" As he tried to wake up Jazz, Danny wiped away the liquid from his lips. It wasn't blood. Blood wasn't so putrid, or sticky, or _black_. It was disgusting. He felt a tear streak down his face and, when he rubbed it, that was black too.

This was how his parents found him when they stormed down the stairs moments later, clutching his older sister and leaking black ooze. They weren't wearing their jumpsuits for once and that was the reason for their deaths. When they saw their fallen daughter, Maddie had pulled Danny's hand away and Jack had buried him into a hug. Both collapsed the instant they touched their son's skin.

And Danny killed them. He knew he killed them. Oh, hell, he killed them! He stumbled back from the remains. He'd killed his family!

Not thinking straight, Danny ran. He ran up the stairs and down the hall and into his room where—

A card table was set up. A card table loaded up with 3 different meals from the Nasty Burger. The man, the weird old man with the cane, sat on one side, chewing on a burger like it was perfectly ordinary to be eating lunch in a stranger's room. He set the sandwich down delicately and swallowed. "Hello, Daniel."


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Dead on Arrival **

_**Danny**_

"Who are you?" Danny breathed angrily. His small form shook from his pent-up fury. He was coughing up ick, his family was _dead_, and this guy had the nerve to watch him like he's some amusing animal in a zoo!? Danny wanted to punch him in his smug mouth.

The man quirked an eyebrow at the question and folded his hands in his lap. "I'm the reason that you are alive. Now, sit and stop being so disrespectful." Unable to disobey, Danny stiffly marched over to the other folding chair and sat down, scowling. The man continued without even looking at him, making Danny livid. "You've grown quite a lot since I've last seen you. It's to be expected. You were a newborn at the time, all pink and squishy like most humans are when they're born. I didn't think you'd make it 12 hours, let alone 14 years."

Danny tried to say something snarky but found that his jaw was glued shut. The man sighed. "Even with as insignificant as humans are, I express my condolences for the loss of your family. Especially Madeline; it's difficult to come across someone as smart and creative as your mother was." Danny's eyes widened. The man actually sounded…apologetic? "I suppose it's my fault in a way. If you hadn't run into me today, we could have delayed the arrival of your more violent…abilities for at least another 2 years, even with the effects of the Ghost Portal accident."

Danny suddenly found his lips unstuck. "How do you know about that? Did you kill my family?"

"No, you did a fine job of killing them all by yourself," he quipped. "But I am the one who kept them dead; I'm Death, after all."

Danny stared at Death. It was impossible. It should be impossible, yet…why did it strike him as true? If it was true, then there was only one thinkable reason that he was here. "Are you going to kill me?" he whispered, the words nearly getting stuck in his throat.

Death rolled his eyes. "I obviously shouldn't have let you be raised by humans. You've apparently inherited their sense of supposed importance and their need to ask idiotic questions. No, foolish boy. Why would I have created you merely to kill you before you've done anything?"

"You talk like I'm not human, like I belong to you." Danny's chin jutted up in defiance. This being did not own him.

"Of course you belong to me, _son_," Danny reared back like he was struck. "You're an experiment that's turned out profitable, half human and half dead, created to live a few years and dissolve after your purpose is through." Death stared at him bored as Danny reeled with the information. How could he be half dead!? That was scientifically impossible! "I imagine that's why your body has started to leak ectoplasm. It is poison to the white blood cells of humans, yet your body produces it along with your blood. But it's still majorly incompatible with your body, so you will start expelling it in any way possible when you use your powers. It's possible that excessive use would kill you, but you'd have to wrestle an archangel for that to happen. You're the child of the one who will kill God, after all."

Danny's brain felt too small for all of this info. His mom cheated on Dad? With _this_? God existed? And now…now he was supposedly tied to Death for the rest of his now short life, like a pit-bull to its master? His eyes snapped up to meet Death's, which he now realized were the exact shade blue as his own. He had the being's hair too, without it being slicked back, and their mouths seemed similar in shape. Death smirked as if he could read Danny's thoughts. "What if I don't want to obey you?" he asked, licking his lips.

The room grew colder and the shadows around them grew deeper, blacker, much like the ectoplasm that was still oozing from his left eye. Death's lips quirked up as he took a sip of his soft drink, the straw slurping noisily as nothing was found in the cup. "You don't have a choice, Daniel," he grimaced. "I wish your mother had named you something else, it's like talking to one of the walking feather dusters…" he muttered, but soon focused back on his creation. "Humans may have free will, but you're not completely human. This means you obey me."

The words swirled around Danny's brain, imprinting them into his memory forever. He could feel their meaning take hold of him, like the very sentence was wrapped around his limbs, forcing him to follow the orders of the immortal before him. Danny knew with absolute certainty that he couldn't defy any orders he gave him.

He was trapped. Forever.


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Build God, Then We'll Talk**

_**Dean **_

Dean hated this astral projection shit.

It made him useless! No one could see him, he couldn't touch anything, and worst of all, he couldn't keep Dad or Sammy from something stupid! _And what the hell was causing this painful flickering!?_

The elder brother stepped out from behind the younger to see a group of doctors surrounding his prone body trying to restart his heart.

At the head of the bed stood a kid. He couldn't have been more than 17, short and weedy like he didn't eat enough. He was dressed in a suit any other teen would have looked uncomfortable in with leather gloves. One of his gloves was off and his bare hand had been touching Dean's forehead. Black ooze dripped from the kid's eye. Ectoplasm, Dean realized belatedly. "Get the hell away from me!" he yelled to the spirit's amusement.

"How rude," he sighed. At least the ghost wasn't touching him anymore. "Well, I'm glad I got your attention anyway."

Dean gave the ghost kid a weird look as the doctors began to leave due to his lack of heart failure. It didn't look happy. In fact, the ghost looked like it couldn't feel anything at all. "Who are you?" Dean asked it.

"Danny," it monotoned. "I guess you can say I'm your reaper."

The hunter clenched his jaw and looked back at his distraught brother, who was still hovering in the doorway. He turned back to Danny with a determined glint in his eye as the last of the doctors filed out. "Look…I'm sure you've heard this before, but…you've gotta make an exception, man. You've gotta cut me a break." The reaper looked unmoved. "You see, me and my family, we're in this war and if I go now, they're going to die."

Danny sighed again, wiping the ectoplasm off his cheek. "I can't tell you how many times I've heard those same words in the last 3 years, Dean. Despite common lore, I don't like reaping. I don't want to reap you. But I have my orders, Dean. A Winchester has to die tonight, and the higher ups don't care if it's you or your father."

"Dad?"

"While his inability to be a parent is despicable, John Winchester does care about you and Sam. He's not summoning Azazel to kill him. He's going to make a deal…and that deal will kill him." Dean started pacing in front of his bed. No way. Dad would never make a deal for him. But…no, no way in hell.

"You have options," Danny continued. "One, you move on and leave your family to fight by themselves. Two, you let your dad make the deal and he'll be in Hell by moon tomorrow. Three, I put you back in your body and send your dad and one other to the afterlife their choices made them go."

Dean glared. Die, let his father die, or kill Dad and an innocent person!? "What kind of shit choices are those!?" he snarled.

"Life is full of shit choices," Danny said menacingly, showing Dean his first emotion. "Get over it."

"You're asking me to kill my own father!"

"You wouldn't be the first to kill family, believe me." The reaper flickered and reappeared next to Dean, boring into him with ice blue eyes. "So, _Dean_, what will it be? Option 1, 2, or 3."

There was only one real choice Dean could make. "…Three."

Danny smirked. "Nice doing business with you, Dean," he said and touched the hunter's forehead with an ungloved finger.


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4 Life After Death**

"Geeze, Tucker, will you get your elbow out of my ribs!"

Dean glanced at his brother and Sam nodded. He'd heard the girl too. The elder cocked his gun and the younger tightened his grip on his silver knife, ready to attack if it was one of the necromancers they were hunting—or worse, one of the zombies. Mouthing a countdown, Sam rapidly pulled open the door and Dean pointed his gun at the closet occupants.

Two teenagers fell out with their hands tied behind their backs. One was a black kid with a red hat falling off his head and an anti-possession tattoo on his arm. The other was a girl that non hunters would see as a demon worshiping heathen. What they wouldn't see was the unprofessional stiches on her collarbone and a matching tattoo on her wrist. Dean lowered his gun, exasperated. Other hunters. Inexperienced ones at that, if they managed to get themselves locked in a closet.

Sam untied them. "Thanks dude," the boy said, straightening his hat. "I thought we were going to be trapped in there until those zombies came back."

"We wouldn't have gotten caught if you had stopped complaining about your stomach for 5 minutes—"

"Hey! No fighting!" Dean broke up the agreement before it really got going. It looked like these two did this a lot. "Look, either of you still have your weapons?" Two head shakes. "Great…alright, you two get out—"

"No!"

"Hold on, Princess—"

The goth glared up at him. "We're not giving up," she hissed. "Not when we're so close to finding the thing that killed our friend!"  
Dean shared a look with Sam and his brother asked, "Your friend?"

"Yeah, Danny Fenton," the boy said. "I'm Tucker, she's Sam. We started hunting 4 years ago when our friend's family was killed and he disappeared."

Sam-the-girl turned to Tucker. "Are you implying that Danny was the one to kill them again?" She yelled. The brothers winced; there went their attempt at secrecy. "I've told you, Danny wouldn't do that, not even as a monster! Besides, they died from heart attacks. How could Danny do that!? What could do that!?"

"You don't know what you're hunting…but you think it's here?"

"Yeah," Tucker replied. "It's been targeting necromancers, people who raise the dead and stuff. It just doesn't make sense that it started with the Fentons. They were ghost hunters and Jazz and Danny had nothing to do with their parents' work."

Tucker handed them a worn picture. In it, two younger versions of Sam-the-girl and Tucker smiled at the camera along with an ominously familiar boy.

Dean had never told Sam about his encounter with the reaper named Danny. He'd faked memory loss, not wanting to tell Sam that he was the reason their father died. It was better, Dean believed, otherwise Sam may have done something stupid. And, though he didn't want to admit it, the reaper had scared him. It was so…apathetic towards Dean's existence. Usually things wanted to keep him alive or to kill him, but Danny honestly didn't care. It made Dean consider him the most dangerous of the monster's he'd ever faced.

But why was a reaper killing necromancers?

Suddenly, a shrill scream was heard from an upper floor. The brothers raced for the stairs with the less experienced hunters at their heels. Sam kicked in the door and the 4 piled inside to see Danny drop a woman's body on the corpse covered floor.

He turned to stare at them with his head eyes, ectoplasm leaking from his left nostril. Danny's eyes glanced over the hunters who claimed to be his friends and rested on Sam for a moment before locking his gaze on Dean. The corner of his mouth tugged up into a smirk, small but smug and self-satisfied. His voice rumbled through the room. "Hello, Dean."

"Danny," the hunter acknowledged Danny by pointing his gun at him.  
The reaper rolled his eyes. "Is that how you treat me, after all I've done for you?"

Dean cocked it. "This is how I treat anyone who goes around killing people."

"And what were you going to do, dress in drag and have a tea party? ...You know that's not going to work on me."

"Worth a shot. Might even buy me a few minutes. What the hell is a reaper doing killing necromancers, anyway? I thought that wasn't your jurisdiction."

"I do what I'm ordered."

Dean forcibly relaxed his hand. The reaper was even worse than before. "Danny?" Sam-the-girl stepped out from behind Dean. "Is that…you?"

"No. Your Danny is dead. He died when he killed his family."

Sam-the-girl sneered, tears in her eyes. "So Tucker was right. You are a monster."

He moved in an instant and she gagged as the reaper held her up by the neck with one gloved hand. "Did you know that a reaper's skin kills, Samantha?" He said tonelessly. "You had a crush on me once, Sam. Would you like a kiss?"

Dean's brother stabbed Danny in the back and he dropped Sam. She and Tucker ran for their lives as Danny stumbled away and pulled the knife out with a grunt of pain and sick slurp. The silver blade came away clean of liquids, no blood or ectoplasm. "How rude. Your brother has no idea what gratefulness mean, Dean."

"And why should I feel grateful?" Sam growled.

"Oh, you haven't told him yet. Well, I'd love to be a fly on the wall for that conversation, but sadly I can't." Danny eyed Sam with distain. "I should be going. Places to see, people to kill. You know the drill; you're practically serial killers after all."

He walked past them to the door. "And, Dean? Try to teach your brother some manners. There are many other things other than I who would take far greater offence from a little stab in the back between friends." And with that, the reaper disappeared.

**A/N: I'm not sure if I want to finish this anymore…I'll try, but…**


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5 The Only Difference between Martyrdom and Suicide is Press Coverage**

The loud, impossible screeching cut off suddenly and all Dean could hear was a ringing in his ears. He glanced around, expecting whatever it was to jump out and attack. As the ringing faded, Dean sighed in relief.

"Hello, Dean."

Dean turned fast enough to give himself whiplash. Danny stood there causually in his black suit, like he didn't even feel the late summer heat or was bothered by all the broken glass. "What the hell, man!" Dean clutched his chest. "You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

"How hilarious," Danny deadpanned. "Escaping Hell, only to die not a day later from being startled. I'm starting to see why you and your brother are the best hunters in the business."

Dean hid a wince. He was actually out… This wasn't one of Allister's games or a pain-induced hallucination; no one could replicate the immense sarcasm that radiated from Danny's every pore. He was really out…

And he'd just yelled at an extremely powerful reaper. Crap. Oh well, no use trying to change anything. At least reapers can't choose where they send souls…at least, Dean hoped that was true. "Your sarcasm isn't appreciated, Danny. Anyway, the unearthly screeching is new. What happened, you get a power up?"

Danny rolled his eyes. "That wasn't me that was the idiot who pulled you out of the Pit. An angel who seems to be under the impression that you can hear his real voice. I got him to stop before he killed you again or shattered your eardrums, whichever came last." He scowled. "Honestly, you and your brother… Every time you two come back to life, the Balance gets thrown off and I have even more work to do."

Dean stared at Danny. Was he…complaining? Did reapers even like their jobs? Was it volunteering or are reapers paid? "Sorry, I guess."

"Not your fault. Well, not completely."

"So…angels exist?"

"Unfortunately. More like narcissists on holy steroids if you ask me. But it's hilarious to watch them curse me out for being such an abomination. Of all the gifts God gave them, creative insults were not one of them." Terrified, Dean stared in horror as Danny chuckled. He. CHUCKLED.

Shaking off his fear, Dean asked, "Hey, do you mind… Well, you can teleport and I really need to get back to Bobby's…"  
"I'm neither yellow nor have "taxi" stamped on my forehead, Winchester. Get home yourself." In a blink, Danny was gone and Dean was still stuck in the middle of nowhere.

"Son of a bitch!"


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6 Disturbia**

_**Dean**_

Dean warily eyed the wallet from where it sat innocently on the table. He could have sworn he left it in yesterday's pair of jeans… Great, first the Witnesses, now the case of the teleporting wallet.

He opened it with the tips of his fingers, like it was going to explode or bite him. Nothing seemed to be missing but… Dean removed a small, white card with horrible handwriting on it. This was new. It read:

_IOU one favor 4 the witnesses. Burn this to summon me._

_-Danny_

**A/N: Yes, this chapter was always going to be this short. **


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7 Die in a Fire**

_**Danny**_

Danny coughed up ectoplasm as he hit the floor, head spinning. He glared up at his captors. Damn angels…

Zachariah smiled pleasantly at him like the smug dick he was. "Hello, Daniel. I'd say it was a pleasure to see you, but looking at an abomination of the Lord always makes me feel sick."

He spat in the direction of the angel and smirked at Zachariah's flinch. "I feel the same way. Why don't you make this easier on both of us and let me go, birdbrain." Danny stood, taking in the room. It was…elaborate and fancy, with white and gold walls and original pieces of art depicting the apocalypse (though the only way Danny knew it was an original and not a copy was the fact that angels owned it). On the table sat…a Nasty Burger. His insides clenched pathetically and he mentally scowled. While he didn't need any food to survive, Danny had definitely inherited his "father's" love of good human food.

Zachariah sucked his teeth in false sympathy. "Oh, no can do kiddo. You see, angels are getting killed."

"And you think I know who's doing it?"

"No, we think you're the one doing it."

Danny burst out laughing. "You've gotta be kidding!" he cackled. "Zachariah, while I know it's probably hard sharing one collective brain cell with all several billion of your brothers, even you should realize that despite the fact that I despise your entire existence, I'm not stupid. Killing one angel would bring down the entire fleet of you on my ass. Besides, killing you lot has no benefit for me outside of personal satisfaction."

"So…what? Are you claiming a demon's doing this then?"

"Hardly. Most demons can think their way out of the Hell mob mentality. No, Zacky, one of your own angels is doing it. You've got a traitor."

The angel reared back, his wings flaring aggressively. Danny yawned. "Impossible! No angel would go against the garrison!"

Danny rolled his eyes. "Ever heard of Lucifer? You know, the guy you're _supposed_ to be trying to keep in Hell?" he spat. "I told you what you wanted to know, not let me out of this damn box."

"No."

Cocking his head, Danny glared at the angel. "Excuse me?"

"You've been getting too close to the Winchesters. We can't afford to have you telling them about the Apocalypse."

He was seething. "I've been doing my _job!_ Putting down ghosts and killing necromancers! It's not my fault that the two are hunters and pop up out of nowhere like damn whack-a-moles! And why would I interfere with your plans? I want the end of the world as much as you all do!"

Zachariah smiled. Bastard! "You're still part human, Daniel. Humans…they're always so…unpredictable. We can't have you change your mind. Enjoy your stay." And he fluttered away, like the multi-headed pansy Danny knew he was.

"**ASS!**"


	9. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8 Monster**

_**Danny**_

Danny had barely escaped the angels by the skin of his teeth. He had felt someone create an angel banishing rune and had felt the angels flee. That was when he struck against the powers holding him. Danny usually wouldn't have been able to fight them, just because of the sheer number of angels. But he slipped away under all the confusion about "the Michael sword being lost."

Good for Dean.

A painful cough ruptured from his lips and ectoplasm splattered into his hand. Danny grimaced and wiped the disgusting liquid on the ground in the field he'd taken shelter in. he was leaking, falling apart. This always happened when he expended too much energy. He was an abomination that had never existed before now. Humans and Death were never supposed to mix in this way, inside a flimsy body filled with ectoplasm and blood, fighting between life and death all the time. He was unstable and one day he'd dissolve into nothing. He might leave a corpse behind if he was lucky. If he wasn't, then he'd just be a puddle of ectoplasmic goo.

He collapsed into the grass. Everything hurt. His head pounded, his lungs were flooding, and Danny was pretty sure his muscles were freezing up in rigor mortis since he could barely move. Nothing too major then. He'd been worse, like that time his organs nearly shut down. Danny's eyes fluttered shut. He just needed to rest for a few hours, and then he'd be functional enough to—

Something happened. Danny could feel it in the wind, in the taste of the air. Ozone frying, sulfur, and rot invaded his lungs and Danny spazzed with another gut-wrenching cough. He pealed his eyes open, but there was nothing there—only tall weeds and the starry night sky he once dreamed of visiting. But he couldn't dream. Especially not now, not when it was finally his time. Not during the apocalypse.

Lucifer had risen.


	10. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9 Kill Everyone**

_**Dean**_

The card in his hand burned a bright blue, unnatural and eye catching in the ruins of the restaurant. Dean had no other option; Cas was useless in his hungry, Sam was crouched on the ground while sucking on a demon's neck, and there was Famine with his wheezing laughter. He had no idea what else to do but summon the only thing he thought could save them.

Danny.

The restaurant's front door bell rang cheerfully as the reaper strolled casually through the door. Dean was shocked. Danny actually looked…older. It wasn't that noticeable, but his hair was past his ears and he'd grown at least an inch. "Well, Dean, I never expected that you'd ask me to beat up my own uncle. And I thought you valued family ties!" Danny said, amused.

Dean's jaw dropped and Famine sneered. "Oh yes, Death's little experiment. Tell me, boy, how do you expect something that's half human to defeat me?"

"With ease, dear uncle." Danny walked forward, passing Sam and Cas while pulling off a glove with his teeth.

"Everyone has a weakness I can use, Daniel. Even you."

Danny struck and grabbed Famine by his throat with his bare hand. "The only thing I crave, uncle, is my own demise." The skin Danny's hand touched flaked and rotted under his touch. Famine screeched in pain and rage. "But I'm not going to be killed by such a pathetic being like you."

He snatched the Horseman's ring hand and slid the piece of jewelry off in one swift motion. Famine disappeared in a flicker, taking away the effects of his presence. Danny snapped his fingers and Sam dropped unconscious. He tossed the ring at Dean. "You'll want to keep that," he said. "Sam will wake up in 24 hours. I suggest you return him to Mr. Singer's house before then."

And then, just like every other time they'd met, Danny vanished.


	11. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10 It's Not My Time**

_**Dean**_

"Hello, Dean."

Dean flinched and whirled around in his seat, Crowley doing the same. Behind them sat Danny with his legs crossed elegantly. "Damn it, Danny! Make some goddamn noise when you beam down here."

"My bad." Danny didn't sound sorry. In fact, he didn't sound like anything. In their previous meetings, Dean could hear emotion in the reaper's voice, but now it was like talking to a robot. "I'm here to take you to Death."

"…Thanks." There goes _that_ plan. Dean followed Danny's directions while Crowley glared at them. He drove through the storm to outside a pizzeria. "So, Death likes fast food?"

"Something we share. He's waiting inside for you."

"Wait!" Danny raised an eyebrow. "Help us."

"What?"

"Help us get the ring from Death so we can open the Cage."

"What on Earth gave you the idea that I could help you?"

"You destroyed Famine! You gave us his ring with a warning to hold onto it."

Danny scoffed. "You act like I can disobey Death."

"Famine said you were human. You have free will just like the rest of us!"

He turned away, scowling out the window. "I'm only half human. I have no choice but to obey Death."

"Bullshit!" Danny jerked at Dean's outburst. "Angels can disobey Heaven. Demons can disobey Hell." He pointed at Crowley, then at Danny. "Why can't you?"

"I physically can't, Dean."

"Have you tried? Like, really tried? Or have you just let Death order you around like a lapdog while you felt sorry for yourself?"

"You don't understand—"

"I understand enough! The people you care about are dead, the world's doomed, so why not just let it happen? But it's not just you who's going to suffer! There are billions of innocent people who are going to die while you're stuck in your pity party!"

Danny's lips curled into a snarl. "You'd know all about pity parties, wouldn't you? Death is waiting for you inside. Go before this entire city is swept away."

"Fine." Dean slammed the Impala door behind him as he left.


	12. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11 Oh, Death**

_**Danny**_

_ Help us._

Dean's words whirled around and around in Danny's head_. You have free will just like the rest of us. Why can't you?_

His hand clenched. He didn't want to let billions of people did. But he couldn't _do_ anything! If he tried to help, Death would just order him not too!  
As if thinking his name summoned him, Death appeared in the other side of the restraint booth. He slid Danny's untouched plate of onion rings away and ate one. "Hmm…no bad. I still think that the ones from Philly are the best, however."

"What do you need me to do?"

Death raised an eyebrow. "I can't visit my son while he's sulking?"

"You haven't before. And I'm not sulking."

"If you say so." Death ate another ring. "You had quite the conversation with Dean Winchester. I imagine he gave you much to think about."

"No." Yes. "Was your confrontation with him successful?"

"In a way. I gave him my ring and told him how to open the Cage."

Danny choked on his drink. Death continued. "The boy was quite shocked. I have no idea why. It's not like I ever expressed any desire for the world to end."

"Well, you haven't exactly been very vocal about your opinion," Danny said with a glare.

"No, I suppose I haven't, but I was hoping you could have figured it out yourself. Oh, well. It's not like I can do anything now. Lucifer has already taken Samuel's body and is going to go confront Michael. Dean is on his way to Stull Cemetery to try and stop them. Not that it's possible at this point. No, he'll probably be the first of the many victims of the apocalypse."

Dean Winchester, a victim? Danny snorted. Impossible. That man has defied the natural order so often, coming back to life all the time that Danny had no doubt that he could pull another miracle out of his ass.

But this time…if Death couldn't do anything—

Death couldn't—

But—

Danny scowled at the older man. That complete and utter _ass_. Was this what he'd been planning from the beginning?

Probably.

He stood and Death raised an eyebrow. "So you finally figured it out. It's about time. Your friends were right to call you clueless." He sighed. "You should hurry to Stull Cemetery. I can feel him dying from here."

Danny shrunk back, but regained his composure enough to teleport. He arrived in the old graveyard just in time to see Samifer wailing down on Dean. Without any other choice, Danny did what he had to do in order to save his…friend's? Yes, his friend's life.

He socked Satan in the face.

The power behind his blow threw Lucifer a hundred feet. Danny looked down at Dean, the sun behind his head. "Open the Cage, Dean. I can deal with Lucifer."

Dean stared up at him, his green eyes as wide as they could be while still swelling. "What are you doing?"

"I appear to be exercising my free will for the first time in years to save your ass. Now, hurry up so we can make it count!" He faced the recovering devil and pulled off his gloves with his teeth. The black leather dropped limply to the dewy grass.

Lucifer stood, rubbing his jaws. "Damn reaper…" In an instant, the archangel was in front of Danny and pierced his stomach with his angel blade. Danny grinned, ectoplasm staining his teeth black.

The devil was obviously shocked by his lack of pain and dying. "Did you actually think that your little pig-poker could kill me?" Drawing back his hand, Danny shoved it through Samifer's chest. The archangel screeched as he grabbed hold of his Grace and pulled. It should have been impossible.

No one had ever separated an angel from its host before.

But Danny was created to be the impossible.

The sound of wings fluttering altered Danny to Michael appearing behind him. But he ignored him in favor of pulling. Ectoplasm bubbled up from his throat as he finally tugged Lucifer free, causing Sam to fall in a crumpled heap. "What are you doing!?" Michael yelled at him over the sound of Lucifer's true voice. "How dare you go against us—"

It was easy to make archangels shut up. You just had to pull them out of their vessels. Now his hands were full with two squirming angels and his face was dripping with black goo. Danny looked desperately over at Dean who was standing beside the open portal to the Cage, shielding his eyes from bright light caused by Michael and Lucifer.

Danny trudged forward to the Cage, his grip on Lucifer and Michael strong. It was difficult, every step harder to take, every movement causing another flood of ectoplasm down his face. The two were desperate to get free; they lashed out at him, ripping open his clothes and making him ooze even more. Their true voices rang out in fury, driving Dean to his knees but leaving Danny unaffected. Their efforts were futile.

He stood in front of the portal, its suction almost pulling him in. Danny fell to his knees, his hands holding the archangels out over the pit. "Go to hell, and take your damn apocalypse with you!" Danny spat out past the ectoplasm and let go.

If it wasn't for the divine pull of the Cage, the two would have been free. Instead the two lights spiraled down into the dark depths. The Cage closed. Danny collapsed into the grass, exhausted and in pain. He couldn't move. He didn't want to move. He could barely breathe.

Was he dying?

Odd. Danny had been looking forward to this day for the last 6 years, but now…

Someone was flipping him over and Danny stared up at Dean's suddenly healed face. He was shaking him. "Danny! Wake the hell up, Danny!"

"Dean…"

He tried to pick Danny up, but the half human gasped in pain. "Hey, it's okay Cas is gonna fix you right up—"

Danny choked out a laugh. "He wouldn't…know where to begin. I'm…I'm dying."

"Like hell you are! You're not going to die, not now!" He turned. "Cas? A little help?"

"I'm…sorry, Dean." Danny heard someone say. They sounded like they were really far away… "He is correct. His entire being is falling apart. The fact that he's still alive right now is…miraculous."

Dean looked back at him. Danny tried to smile. "It's okay, Dean. I k-knew this day would come." A coughing fit interrupted him. "Damn…hey…do you think you could apologize to Sam and Tucker for me? They…were good friends. They didn't deserve me scaring the shit out of them."

"You're going to be able to tell them yourself, Danny." Dean said. "Just you wait. Any second that supernatural healing is going to kick in and you'll be back on your feet in no time."

"You're a good person, Dean." It hurt to laugh, but Danny wanted to at Dean's expression. "Don't ever…let anyone…tell you otherwise."

It was really hard to talk now. Danny was so tired. He just…wanted to sleep…just for a little while. Maybe if he just closed his eyes… Dean noticed. "Hey, hey! Don't you close your eyes! Don't you close your eyes you son of a bitch—"

The light faded from his eyes and Danny exhaled one last time.


	13. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

_**Danny**_

Danny woke with a sudden jolt. He'd died. He felt his soul leaving his body, fading into the black abyss.

Sitting up, he looked around cautiously. He was in a forest, unlike any he'd seen before. Everything seemed white washed, like someone had painted a grey oil wash over all the colors. All the sounds were muted too. The only thing he could hear was his own breathing and branches breaking…

He acted instantly. Danny flew to his feet and the moment he did, a huge man rushed him with a snarl. All it took was a back-handed slap for his powers to kill him.

A bitter smile barely curled the corners of Danny's mouth. He shoved his hands into his pants pockets and began walking. It didn't matter where. There was nothing but forest after all.

Figures he'd end up in Purgatory.


End file.
